Knitting, Reading, Cooking, Walking

Hello friends. I'm back! Look at me...two posts in a week. I had to turn comments off because spam email comments went crazy last week. Not sure if that's resolved yet. But in the meantime, I'll post what I'm knitting, reading, cooking and walking.

I am working on my Westfjord Wanderer Shawl by Stephen West.

I am using yarn from Swift Yarn and Fuse that I bought at Vogue Live NYC.

The border is now complete and it's time to make the giant middle part! It's going to be more like a blanket than a shawl when I finish.

I am reading The Dutch House. So far I am enjoying it. The reviews are very good so I'm excited to get a chance to really sit down and read for a while.

My friend, Robin is starting up her Etsy shop again. I am so excited for her!!! She has been wanting to get back to her dye pots but family and life has been her priority (of course as it should be). But she is able to now take some time for herself and she's jumping back in to the dye world. She also has yarn for sale at Frame & Fiber in Point Pleasant. There will be a trunk show during the NY Wool Walk!!! Robin asked me to knit up a sample in her yarn and I'm more than happy to do so. I decided to make a Kobuk hat by Caitlin Hunter. I am holding two strands of fingering weight together for this. If you can support Robin, please do! She is currently a stay-at-home mom and this is a way she can support her family.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/robinsroostshop

I usually spend some time on Sundays cooking and trying out some new recipes. I like Ree Drumond, The Pioneer Woman and she made this Old Fashioned Chicken Stew on her show Sunday morning. It looked good so I tried it. It was good....not great. Had a different taste that my family didn't love. I used root vegetables that had a different taste then we are used to. I served it with some bread and egg noodles.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/old-fashioned-chicken-stew-5596041

I have also been trying to get out for a walk more often. 

It's been very mild here in New Jersey this winter. As much as I miss the snow, I can't deny that it was nice to be outside yesterday and not be cold.

Took a walk on the beach and enjoyed some fresh air with the seagulls.

It's nice to be back in this space.

Hope you are all doing well.

Walking

I haven't posted in forever. Instagram and our YouTube channel have taken over. I post there every few days and this poor little blog has been neglected.

So here I am :) Back for a quick little post. I got a nudge from "Purple Debbie" to start taking walks after work or at lunch. I have been tired lately, stressed out, exhausted from daily life, etc and I have not been exercising at all. The idea of going to the gym after a day of work is not my idea of fun. But a walk I can do. The sun was still out Monday night when I left work so Chase and I took the dog for a walk around the farm. It was a pretty night and I'm glad I did it.

So here goes nothing....trying to blog a little more and say hello to all of you.

The College Quilt

My "baby boy" is a high school senior. Can someone explain to me how that happened? I'm an emotional disaster. LOL. Trying to keep my head above water which I am failing miserably at these days....the days are jam packed with kids, work, sports, remembering to do all the things, etc. You know the deal. And in the middle of all of it my oldest is preparing to apply to college. It's mind boggling to me.

When I was first married, I took a quilting class in Doylestown, PA. I learned the basics and made a small lap size sampler quilt. My kids all love it. It barely fits over them, but they fight over it. It's 20 years old and still a well loved quilt. One night over the summer, my oldest asked if I could make him a quilt like that to take to college with him. Ummmm yes. Yes I can do that. I have not quilted in many, many years. I think my last quilt was for my sister's wedding and that was over 10 years ago. I was excited to get back to quilting! I found this pattern on Then Came June's website. I fell in love with the pattern when I saw it on instagram. There was a size option for twin size so that was the one I decided to make.

My son went with me to the fabric store and helped pick out colors. He likes burgundy and grays, so that's the way we went. He picked out a few novelty fabrics and we make them work. So....I got to cutting and piecing over the past two months. Little by little it was coming together.

Yesterday I sat at my machine and pieced all of the little square together and finished up the top. I love it. Dalton loves it. So win, win!

Now I need to get the batting, backing fabric, baste it and start the long process of hand quilting (which is my favorite part of the process). I don't really enjoy sitting at a sewing machine. I am much happier sitting on the couch using my hands as the tools and not relying on a machine to do the work. But if I hand pieced this one it wouldn't have been done in time for college graduation!!

So here it is so far....my boy's college quilt. Now someone get me tissues. It's going to be a long year.

One of the big squares

Final top is complete!

The Wishing Tree

A few weeks ago I took my littlest and two of my nephews for a long bike ride. 

Commonly known around here as "the bike path", we made our way from my house down to Manasquan and back. One of the stops along the way is something called The Wishing Tree. I don't know who started it but it's a beautiful thing to see. Located at the parking lot on Bailey's Corner Road, you'll see a few large evergreen trees with white tags hanging. Below the sign explaining that it is a place to make a wish, is a container with tags, string and markers.

The boys and I took some time to read the wishes of others. Some were cute and funny, some brought tears to my eyes. We all filled one out for ourselves and hung them on the tree with the others. Here are some pictures of the day....

Chase wished that everyone stays healthy (and to win a million dollars). Of course...

NJ Sheep & Wool Festival 2019

We had a great morning at the NJ Sheep & Wool Festival. We saw friends, found some great yarn and goodies. My nephew Shea came home with an adorable dwarf lionhead bunny. So cute!!! I found more yarn to finish my Leaves of Grass blanket. YAY!!! and finished the day with some outside knitting, wine, food and football.

Cheers to fall and festivals!

Festival Season is Upon Us!!!

Hello!!!!!! I know...it's been forever since I have posted here. Blame it on instagram. It's so easy to quickly share what I'm up to over there. And we also talk so much about what we're working on through our YouTube channel that I have neglected my poor little blog.

But I have a few minutes today so I thought I would do a post.

Festival Season is upon us!!! AKA, my favorite time of year! This weekend is the kick-off with NJ Sheep & Fiber Festival.

It's our very own NJ fiber festival. It started out small and is now growing year by year. We love it. My little guy loves it too. Only an hour drive from our house and we feel far away. I'm looking forward to visiting some friends and shopping some favorite vendors. I always keep my eye out for some new things too. This festival has something for everyone.

Of course I like to have a few project ideas in mind when going to a festival. So here are some projects I have been eyeing up lately.

The Perfectionist Trap

Bricklands Cowl

Treehouse Hat

Lunae

High Pines Cowl

Two Tone Cowl

So there's a few ideas!

We'll be there sometime on Sunday, so if you see us come say hello!

Cheers!